The Principal’s Office

Michael Connolly’s 1971 MGB racecar

By Dan Kahn

Growing up in Edinburgh, young Martin Connolly was surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of snarky British sports cars tearing up cobblestone streets and filling the air with the smell of high-test petrol. Fast forward a few decades, and Connolly has put down roots in the central California town of Clovis, where he works as a vice principal at an adult school. Shortly after marrying his wife Gwen, Martin felt the urge to acquire a four-wheeled time machine, and he eventually found the 1971 MGB you see here at a British car dealership in Florida.

Originally built by an Oregonian sports car specialist in 1999, the MG was sold to a man in Pennsylvania who tucked it away in storage, before an untimely death forced the second owner’s family to sell the car to the previously-mentioned Sunshine State dealership. Around the same time, Connolly was working on a ‘67 MGB/GT restoration project that wasn’t moving as quickly as he would have liked. With a hankering to get on the road, Connolly sold the project and picked up the MGB with only 600 miles on the odometer in 2004. He has logged several thousand miles since, one autocross pass at a time.

We spotted the MGB in action at Buttonwillow Raceway, and can confirm the little car’s prowess on the track. Originally engineered as a street-capable racer, the car boasts an impressive mix of track-ready performance gear and functional improvements. The body was completely stripped and media blasted before receiving a thick coat of red acrylic urethane applied by Colin Perreault. Llives Racing fender flares, Sebring front and rear valance panels, and a rare factory hardtop lend the car a hearty dose of racer style.

Underneath the bright red skin, the undercarriage has been massaged for maximum performance. The suspension has been fortified with 1-inch lowering springs, Spax adjustable tube shocks, polyurethane bushings, a panhard bar and a ¾-inch solid-mount front anti-roll bar. Stock front disc brakes and rear discs borrowed from a Nissan 280Z help scrub speed in the corners, and a Thorsen-Gleason limited slip differential with 3.90:1 gearing helps the 14-inch Yokohama-wrapped Minilites put power to the pavement.

Speaking of power, the beast under the bonnet is an MGB 1800 overbored to 1948cc by Maples Racing in Oregon. Internal goodies include high-compression JE pistons, an MSX Crossflow cylinder head, a 540-lift racing cam, dual Webber-45 carbs and Electromotive ignition. A header and high-performance muffler channel fumes out the back, and a Nissan 280Z 5-speed handles shifting duties.

Finally, the “office” is fairly Spartan and emphasizes safety over comfort. A full roll cage, Jamex racing buckets, five-point safety belts, and a fire-suppression system keep the pilot in place and the passenger safe. Rick Rogers of British Steel in Fresno, California, did the final tuning.

Future plans include larger wheels with softer tires, a new paint job for the hardtop and many more miles of fun and enjoyment. “British cars are simple, honest, and very reliable if properly maintained,” Connolly says. “Sort of a Luddite response to modern cars that lack character and minimize driver involvement. I’d like to thank my wife Gwen for understanding this British car addiction.”

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves, Martin.